October 24, 2016 also happened to be the day when I forgot I was supposed to exteriorize two PD tubes at the hospital. The PD unit called me when both of our cars were at Kal Tire getting winter tires on. Everett, Shannon and I were down all the way over at Chapters when the call came in. I told Shannon that I had to go in to the hospital, and she told me, having just returned from the washroom, that her water had broke.
Fortuitously, Kal Tire was done with both cars, but we just took the Subaru over to the hospital. Shannon went upstairs and I took the Bean to the PD unit where the nurses entertained him with Paw Patrol on the computer. After two straightforward exteriorizations, we headed upstairs where Shannon was going to stay. Amber was there already with Maebyn.
I took the Bean home, and eventually my parents made it to baby sit. Back at the hospital, Shannon got her epidural at 3:30pm. She was 3 cm dilated. “Does anyone get epidurals at 3?” she asked. It seemed like she should have been at least 5 or 6 by that time! At around a 7:15pm, excitement occurred as the baby all of a sudden decel’ed down in to the 60s. Four nurses came in and got Shannon to roll over this way and that, calling Amber on the phone to get in stat! I was thinking urgent C-section. But things did settle down, and when Amber got here, the heart rate was back up.
Labor occurred at around 8pm. With one hard push, I saw the head of crinkled scalp with jet black hair, just like Everett. With two more pushes, out popped… a GIRL!
Even though I guessed that it would be a girl (Shannon thought boy, because she was just as active as Everett during the pregnancy), it was still a surprise to me to actually have a girl!
We called my parents in along with Everett. At first we weren’t sure what Everett’s reaction would be like. I was thinking he’d be really jealous, seeing a new baby that mommy has to look after all the time. But he was really enamoured. He wanted to hold her right away and kept saying “baby sister!”
The next day Tuesday, I took Everett to music class and then visited the hospital again. We decided and finalized Beanie #2’s name to be Sierra. We’re still waiting on my parents for the middle name.
Shannon and Sierra got to go home in the afternoon to get some rest. The hospital is pretty much the worst place to rest: there’s the lab to get blood, there’s shift change, then breakfast comes, then the doctor is in, then cleaning and noise outside the room, then breakfast trays get removed, then student nurses come in to check, then the lactation consultant. Whew! Back in the quiet of our house.
Well… just like we forgot how small newborns are (was Beanie #1 the small back two years ago?!), we forgot what it was like to not sleep. Sierra’s day-night is reversed, so she was up almost every 1-2 hours the first night home. The second night not much better. And now, it’s already Thursday night! Sierra just wants to eat all the time. Poor little girl, it’s so tough being a little bean. I guess we’ll give her a break though. She’s only just 3 days old!
Here’s Everett being such a good older brother. (In fact, Everett let us sleep in this morning until 9:30am from his usual 8am!). He’s making sure Sierra’s got the toys hanging over her swing. He’s sharing his Paw Patrol toys, and even his favourite blanket! Such a good Bean!
I was out doing stuff today and ran into two people I knew who told me that now I have a millionaire family – one boy, one girl! Such is to be a rich man.
